Chicken Mozzarella

This recipe comes from Fine Fighter Fare  which is a collection of Recipes by IFF Moody AFB in Valdosta, GA.  It was certainly a dish that I will make again.  It was really Chicken Parmesan with Mozzarella cheese on top. Instead of the tomato sauce, garlic powder, basil and butter, I used some marinara sauce out of a can.




Printable Version
Ingredients:

3 whole chicken breasts, halved and boned
2 eggs
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup oil
2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon basil
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
8 oz. mozzarella
Pound chicken into 1/4 inch thickness. Beat eggs slightly. Dip chicken in eggs and roll in bread crumbs. Fry in hot oil just until browned. Drain and place in a shallow pan. Heat tomato sauce, garlic powder and basil until boiling; add butter and simmer 10 minutes. Pour over chicken. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, cover with foil and bake 350' for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover and top with mozzarella cheese and bake 10 minutes longer.


Honey, Mustard and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin

This came from Fine Fighter Fare Cookbook and is a collection of recipes by IFF Moody AFB in Valdosta, GA. I cooked my pork tenderloin in a cooking bag because I had it.  It made clean-up a snap and I always love that.





Printable Version

Ingredients:
3/4 cup beer (I used coke)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
6 T. Honey (I used real maple syrup)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
2 lb. boneless pork tenderloin
1/2 cup whipping cream

Whisk the beer, mustard, honey, olive oil, rosemary, and garlic in a glass baking dish. Add pork and turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour or cover and refrigerate overnight, turning occasionally. Preheat oven to 350-375 degrees. Transfer pork to rack set in roasting pan; reserve marinade. Roast until thermometer inserted into center registers 150' or higher. Then let the pork stand for 15 minutes. Strain the marinade into a heavy saucepan. Use a strainer with the small wire holes so the garlic and rosemary don't get through.  Add the cream and boil until it is reduced to about 1 1/2 cups. Approximately 15 minutes. Slice pork; arrange on platter. Serve the sauce separately so that it can be passed and drizzled over the pork.

Melt-in-your-Mouth Salmon Fillets with Convection Oven

I finally got to use my convection oven.  If you have a
conventional oven, just check it after 10 min. at 450
 degrees.  I have been trying to make salmon, because
I know it is good for us, for years, and this is the first
time that we actually liked my salmon.  I usually just
order it at a restaurant. Now I know I can do it. Yea!
I think one of the keys to the success is a very hot oven.
The other key is not to overcook it. The following is the
site where I found this recipe.  melt-in-your-mouth salmon


Printable Version

Ingredients:
5 salmon fillets (skin left on one side) ( I used Sockeye salmon)
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or as needed)
2 teaspoons dried dill weed (or to taste)
2 teaspoons lemon pepper (or to taste)
seasoning salt (to taste)
lemon wedges
Directions:
1. Wash the salmon well under cold water then pat dry using paper towels.
2. In a bowl mix together mayonnaise with dried dill and lemon pepper until combined.
I didn't have dill weed or lemon pepper so I grated a little lemon zest and pepper into the mayonnaise mixture instead of lemon pepper.  I substituted a pinch of Itallian seasoning and a pinch of fresh rosemary diced fine for the dill weed.
Using a bnrush coat all sides of the salmon fillets generously with mayonnaise
4. Place a well-greased rack into a greased baking dish and set the salmon (skin-side down) onto the rack
5. Sprinkle the top of the fillets with seasoning salt.
6. At this point you can cover and refrigerate until ready to bake.
7. Set the convection oven to heat at 425 degrees (must be a hot oven)
8. Bake the salmon for 5 min. then turn off the heat and let rest in the oven for 2 minutes. (do not turn the salmon. The recipe says to cook for 20 minutes, but we checked it at 5 min. and it was almost done.
9. Serve the cooked fillets with lemon wedges.

Cranberry Orange Nut Loaf

O.K. I have officially lost it.  I inherited a combination
 convection/conventional oven.  I was so excited , but
couldn't find any recipes for a convection oven.  I went
to the library and checked out a book with this recipe in it.
I bought all the stuff, put it together, and placed it in the oven.
As was my habit, I turned on the convectional oven.  Oh well,
I'll try it again. This was an awesome  recipe that I will try again.
If you use  a conventional oven, be sure to cook it longer. 


Printable Recipe  Cranberry Orange Nut Loaf    






Ingredients:
1 large egg - room temperature
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons orange zest
Preheat convection oven to 400 degrees
Add flour, sugar, cranberries, walnuts, baking powder, and salt. Toss to combine. (Take out 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture.)  Make a well in the flour mixture.  In a separate bowl, mix sour cream, water, melted butter, orange zest, and egg. Whisk to combine and add in the well of flour mixture. Mix until combined. Transfer to a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray.  Top with 2 tablespoons of saved flour mixture. Lay shiny side of aluminum foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray over top, loosely. Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10-20 minutes longer.                                                                                 

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

Six Sisters' Stuff  ----------I found this delicious recipe from a blog called six sisters' stuff.  It is an awesome cake and well worth the calories.  I happen to have vanilla chips and used those instead of the milk chocolate chips.  I can't imagine it being any better.

 Printable Version: Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

 

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz) package Devil's Food chocolate cake mix
1 (3.9 oz) box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F .
In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a bundt pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (my favorite is Baker's Joy for this recipe- I wasn't paid to say that- it's my honest opinion!).
Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan for about 90 minutes before inverting onto a plate. If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar or top with my favorite chocolate frosting.

Our Favorite Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup butter OR margarine, softened
1/4 cup milk
1-2 teaspoons vanilla (depending on your taste)
3 Tablespoons cocoa
2-3 cups of powdered sugar

Mix all ingredients together and either spread or pipe on top of cooled cake.

 

Sausage, Mushroom, and Red Pepper Soup

I'm back on the blog after being out for a move to the Austin, Texas area. We are finally settled in to our new home and now I am ready to get back to cooking. This recipe comes from my favorite soup book, The Big Book of Soups and Stews  by Maryana Vollstedt. It is easy to get in a rut and just make the same soups that we have already tried and know we love. This time, I'm glad that we tried a new soup because this is a winner.  It only takes about 30 min. to make and the sausage adds amazing flavor.  We doubled this recipe.

Printable Version: Sausage, Mushroom, and Red Pepper Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
1 teaspoon vegetable oil, if needed (I didn't need it)
1 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
8 oz. medium mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup long-graine white rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley for topping (as you can see by the picture, I used Parmesan cheese instead)

In a large soup pot over medium heat, cook sausage for 2 minutes, breaking up meat with a spoon. Add oil if needed to keep sausage from sticking. Add onion, celery, mushrooms, and bell pepper and saute' until meat is no longer pink and vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes longer. (Since we doubled the recipe, we had to cook it about 15 minutes)  Add stock, rice, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parsley.

Jud made this soup tonight, one year later.  I think it tastes even better when you have someone make it for you.  Hope you have someone to make you this soup.



Apricot/Mustard Baked Chicken

We are homeless at the moment and some really good friends are letting us use their lake house.  It is right on the Guadalupe River and the view is amazing.  As I am cooking, I can see the boats ride by their place.  What an amazing place to be homeless.  I can't seem to download my picture of this dish on Jud's laptop, so I will have to wait until we get to our new house and I have my computer.

Ingredients:
6-8 skin-on pieces (thighs or drumsticks rinced and patted dry) I used two chicken skinless-boneless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
3/4 cup apricot jam
1 Tablespoon grainy mustard
1/4 cup water
Leaves from 2 sprigs thyme
Since I only used two chicken breasts, I used about 1/4 cup of apricot jam, 1 teaspoon grainy mustard, thyme leaves from about 1/2 of a sprig, and about 2 Tablespoons water.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken in a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt and paper and bake 10 minutes. While chicken is baking, whisk jam, mustard, water, and thyme, salt and pepper in a saucepan over low heat about 3 minutes. Pull chicken out of the oven and pour sauce over the chicken. Bake 15 minutes longer. Place chicken under broiler last 3 mninutes on top rack so it is golden and crispy.